“You’re definitely not a little girl, Katherine. You are all woman and definitely worth the risk.”
My dark brows arched in Terry’s direction, but I looked away because there was no point poking the bear.
“That’s nice of you to say, but this is a big win for you.” And rare. Chances were good we’d get that money back right away, and then some.
“True. Maybe another time,” he said, true regret sounding in his voice.
“Don’t forget to call Jasper,” I reminded him and ended the call with a smile. I didn’t want Dale or any other man but Terry, who apparently didn’t want me enough to deal with the fallout from Jasper.
“You are, you know.” Terry’s deep voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him, a question in my eyes.
“Worth the risk.”
“Totally,” I said, my tone mocking his words.
“Kat, it’s true.”
I rolled my eyes at him, shaking my head. I wanted to believe him, but I couldn’t.
“I don’t need you to soothe my ego. We had a ton of fun in Reno but now we’re back in Glitz and our lives are returning to normal.” It wasn’t what I wanted, but when had that ever mattered in my life?
“I’m not trying to soothe anything. I’m just telling you the truth, even if it’s hard for you to hear.”
I laughed. “My ears work fine, Manning. I heard you loud and clear, I just don’t believe what you said.”
Our eyes locked for several long seconds, a war waging between us, with no clear winner when I finally looked away.
It was useless. What I thought might be the start of something, even if it had to be a secret for a little while, had turned out to be just another one-night stand. It was a depressing thought, one I had no desire to wallow in, so I went back to expense and booking reports. Back to the tedious details of everyday life.
And that’s how it went on Tuesday and Wednesday. A silent war between us. Terry was determined to get me to accept that Jasper was a legitimate reason that we couldn’t be together. I refused, just as he refused to acknowledge that I was a grown ass woman who was perfectly capable of making my own decisions about who I had sex with, who I dated, and who I fell for. No matter how stupid it was.
When Thursday rolled around, Terry was feeling playful. “You plan to ignore me forever, Kat?” he said with a tease in his voice. But I wasn’t there.
It was just another sign that he didn’t care as much as I did. And that stung. Men seem to only care when their dick was hard, then they go back to their business of not caring.
“I’m not ignoring you, Terry. I am reverting back to our previous relationship. Just like you wanted.”
He’d insisted on lunch at The Bistro, during which we’d been silent and tense. Hell, it was pure torture and even Leander’s flirting couldn’t bring me out of my funk.
Later, he leaned on the top of the car. “It’s not what I want, Kat.” I yanked the door open and sat in the passenger seat.
“Bullshit.”
Since this conversation was getting us nowhere, I pulled out my phone to return a few emails and put out some corporate fires that should have been moved back to Jasper’s plate and would have been, if we weren’t still hunting down Ravager.
Terry shut the engine off, and I reached for my purse, prepared to head right to the elevator and back to my office, where I could work in tense silence for the rest of the afternoon.
But when I looked up, we weren’t at the Black Stallion. We weren’t even in Glitz, but a cozy little boutique hotel in downtown Mayhem.
“I want you, Kat. I want you more than I realized I wanted you, until I had you.”
“You want to fuck me,” I clarified angrily even as my nipples tightened to peaks and my clit throbbed in anticipation of the next hour. Maybe two.
“That’s not all I want, but it’s a damn good start.”
He’s not being honest with himself. Terry wasn’t a cruel man by nature, so I knew he had to be lying to himself. This relationship could never be more than sneaking around, which meant it could never be more than sex. Really great sex, though.
“It’s all we have, and I guess I’m fine with that.” At least I was trying really hard to be fine with it, and by the time we were locked inside the floral decorated room and tearing each other’s clothes off, I was more than a little fine with it.
On Friday, I booked a reservation at a little inn on the outskirts of Vegas and by the time we returned to my office after lunch, a little flush and a lot satisfied, I knew that just like Terry, I was also lying to myself.
It wasn’t enough.
It never would be when it came to this man.
I wanted all of him, and everything that came with it.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Terry
When Sunday rolled around, I was not prepared, at least not mentally, for Sunday Dinner at Ashby Mansion. Thoughts of Kat invaded my brain and I couldn’t stop thinking about her, not that I had time to erase her from my mind when we’d spent Thursday and Friday getting lost in each other.
But nothing compared to yesterday because I had four full hours to explore her beautiful body, to make her come, and to hear her scream my name. But the best part, and I knew it made me sound like a pussy, was having her in my arms while we watched some stupid comedy on the hotel television.
I was a fucking idiot for letting it continue, but the thought of Kat hating me, of thinking that I didn’t want to be with her when I wanted it—badly—didn’t fucking sit well with me. At all. The whole situation had disaster written
